Military & Veteran Students

Let us support you for your service.

Using Military and Veteran Benefits to Pay for Your Graduate Degree

University of San Diego (USD) has a long history of partnering with active duty military, veterans and their families to provide an outstanding education. With fully online degrees, we are now able to expand the reach of the high-quality education we provide students across the United States and internationally. This allows USD to offer a greater number of military students professional advancement opportunities.

USD’S MILITARY & VETERANS PROGRAM WEBSITE

The University of San Diego was ranked as a Gold Campus for the 2025-2026 Military Friendly Schools.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2025-2026 survey. The 2025-2026 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR Military and Veteran HOUSING BENEFITS

Your housing allowance will be determined by where you take classes. Both online and residential students who are eligible for VA benefits take a total of 6 units per term and are normally certified as “full-time” for their Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) but there are some circumstances that a student would be certified at “3/4 time.” Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Please note that the housing allowance for students enrolled in an online degree program receive an online housing allowance, which is different from an on campus housing allowance. Please check the GI Bill calculator to see the exact housing rate that applies to you.

How to Apply for Your VA Benefits

STEP 1 – Before Requesting to Certify

Apply for FAFSA (not required to use VA benefits but highly encouraged)
Apply for VA benefits to receive your Certificate of Eligibility
- Our online graduate programs are a total of 6 units per term.
- If you are a transfer student already established using the VA benefit at another school, you must complete a VA form 22-1995 Change of Place or Training Program.
- The average time for the VA to process education claims averages around 30 days.

APPLY FOR YOUR VA BENEFITS NOW

STEP 2 – Complete Request to Certify

Complete the Request to Certify form. Upload a Certificate of Eligibility using a copy from the VA or a screenshot of entitlement eligibility with months and percentages.

All students wishing to use VA education benefits must fill out a Request to Certify form each term, after registering for classes — even if they are currently or have previously processed benefits. You must be logged into your USD email or google account to access the form and not a personal email.

*If you are interested in the online Master of Theological Studies in Franciscan Theology (MST-FT) program, contact the FST admissions email [email protected] for more information. FST students should not contact the USD Military and Veterans Program Office since benefits are certified separately.

Next Steps

USD’s Military and Veterans Program Office will work with the VA and will reach out to the student if more information is needed. For additional information about what happens after you submit your request to certify visit the Military and Veterans Program page.

How to Use Your Military & Veteran Education Benefits

Discover all the ways you can use your VA benefits to fund a master’s degree at USD.

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How is Your Benefits Award Posted to Your Student Account?

The Financial Aid office will pre-post either VA Post 9/11 or USD Yellow Ribbon scholarships on student accounts at the beginning of each term. Other financial aid awards will be adjusted accordingly.

Note: Only Non-Title IV awards; ROTC, CALGRANT, employee tuition remission or discounts and or tuition based only scholarships/grants will be deducted first before Post 9/11 and YRP is applied to the student’s account.

Disclaimer: Each student’s award is unique and financial aid packages will be recalculated according to multiple policies for different sources of funding. Please consult with Financial Aid directly once your financial aid package has been adjusted to reflect the G.I. Bill® and Yellow Ribbon amounts with the new USD Gift Aid amounts.

YELLOW RIBBON PROGRAM

Students receiving 100% eligible Chapter 33 Post 9/11 G.I. Bill® are granted additional funding for tuition through the Yellow Ribbon Program at USD. For the 2024 – 2025 school year, the University of San Diego is providing unlimited scholarship funds for graduate students. In addition, the VA also offers up to a $1,000 per year book allowance that is prorated based on credit hours taken.

There is no application to receive these funds, as they are built into the financial aid calculation for eligible students. The USD Yellow Ribbon Program is awarded after the Post-9/11 annual cap has all been used. The unmet tuition will then be split into two awards USD YRP and VA matching of YRP.

How the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill® Works at USD

There are two ways the VA counts your benefits: time and money.

For time, you are given a number of months/days that you can be enrolled and receive benefits. The VA will count days based on the official dates of the term you are enrolled. If you are a Veteran, the benefit covers an entire term as long as you have at least a day of benefits left to start your last term. If the benefit was transferred to you, the VA prorates your benefit based on the exact number of days you have left and only pays for those specific days.
For money, there are annual tuition limits that can be paid to you within a VA fiscal year (this amount resets every year on Aug. 1). You must be using months/days of your benefit to receive Yellow Ribbon Funds.